Preparing for the Unexpected

Quite often BCM/DR professionals will find their efforts fall off the rails and their disaster and business continuity programs aren't running as smoothly as they'd expected. That's because they may not be are of some key aspects that help manage their efforts; Project Management. This weeks show will provide some key tips and ideas from Project Management expert, S. Rosalind Baker. Sue will provide some great insights on how we can better manage our projects regardless of size or industry. We'll cover such topics as; Risk and Issue Management (they aren't the same thing), Stakeholder Management, GANTT charts and scheduling and various project logs. Listen in and get some great ideas to step up your game and make your BCM / DR program the best it can be; from initiation to execution to on going maintenance.

In April 2015 the world watched in horror as Nepal was decimated by a massive earthquake; an earthquake from which the country is still recovering. Listen to this week's show when we speak to Professor Meen Chhetri from Katmandu, Nepal, who will discuss the impacts of the earthquake and how the country responded - and how the Nepal's views on Disaster Management and Preparedness has changed. You'll even hear some surprising hurdles the country encountered that have hindered its progress to rebuild. Professor Chhetri will give us a first hand account of what happened and how the country is moving forward. We'll also touch on the recent floods and landslides and the impacts they have had on a struggling nation slowly rebuilding itself after the 2015 earthquake.

We put allot of energy into creating our BCM/BCP/DR plans and some can contain reams and reams of information but the bigger the plan doesn't always equate to a better plans. To often the plans contain information that doesn't help the user because there is too much fluff in the plan and not enough actions. This week's show will identify 12 segments of information that doesn't need to be included in your action plans because it's fluff information, which can cause the segments are really required to be actioned during a disaster or crisis, to be buried under unimportant information. Tune in and find out if you've got too much fluff in your action plans.

We can learn allot by learning from others and this week's show will focus on the first hand experience of a business owner James Marshal of North Coast Wholesale & Distribution located in Lismore, Australia whose business came to a grinding halt when Lismore experienced a massive flood in March of 2017. James will provide us some hands on experience of what his business did to prepare for the flood and how they responded to it - even walking through waist high water to keep from loosing his stock. It's a first hand view of what happened during the flood and how the city council and the local population pulled together to help each other from someone who went through it.

This week we talk about Communications and Public Relations with globally recognized PR expert and author, Gerry McCusker. Communications is key in any disaster situation and the battle for who controls the narrative rages strong due to social media. Gone are the days of press releases; today you've got to be quick to get your message out there and know how to get the right message out there - and keep in control of the message. We'll discuss how the PR landscape has changed and what organizations really need to concentrate on to keep their message on track and not fall victim to rumour and conjecture. Gerry will provide lots of tips and example of how we can better prepare ourselves for those potential PR disasters.

In our final part of the 3 part series on testing BCP/DR plans, we focus on what you should be doing during the test, how to collect findings information and how to package the information for Executive consumption. All to often tests just happen and people move on to other things but to ensure success and ensure that objectives have been met, proper findings documentation and Executive Summary(s) need to be created. Tune in and get some tips on how to manage the collection of issues and actions during and after the test to ensure you BCM program continues to move forward to greater success.

Carrying on from our last episode, this week's show focuses on the various ways we can test our Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans; from basic walkthroughs to full scale simulations. We'll discuss how to start documenting the planning process; from walkthroughs to full scale simulations. The Test Charter will ensure that all teams involved work from the same 'playbook' allowing for a greater level of understanding, awareness, direction and ultimately success. By using this approach and helping to increase test awareness and the activities involved, you'll be able to test the plan, rather than plan the test. Listen in for some great tips on how to manage and facilitate your BC / DR tests for greater results.

We can spent allot of resources on creating Disaster Recovery, Business Continuity and Emergency Response plans full of content that might help us during a disaster but the content doesn't mean a thing if it hasn't been validated through testing. This episode, Part 1 of a 3 part series about testing our BCM / DR plans, will focus on obtaining the value of testing and how to obtain buy-in from an organization's leadership.

Have you ever watched news reports after disasters and seen animals wandering looking for their owners, or owners upset because they can't find their pets? You've probably seen the scenes - they pull at our heart strings. This week's episode will focus on often forgotten elements that people forget when it comes to pets; choosing the right pet, pet care, integrating pets into a household and caring for pets during disasters and emergencies. For many, pets are members of the family and we often forget to prepare for the impacts they can have on our lives and how they can be impacted by disasters. As we care for ourselves and try to prepare for the unexpected, we need to prepare to care for our pet - our little furry family members. Join us as we speak to Dr. Barbara Drewry, a veterinarian from the Royal City Animal Hospital in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, as we learn many new facets about preparing ourselves and our homes for pets; from insurance to creating a pet emergency kit.

When people think of Fire Services the first thing that comes to mind is usually a large fire truck with sirens blaring, heading towards black smoke, yet there is so much more to Fire Protection than just red trucks, fire hoses and black smoke billowing from a burning building. This episode of Preparing for the Unexpected will focus on all areas of Fire Protection and Fire Services and how we can prepare our offices and our homes when a fire breaks out. We'll be speaking with guest Mr. Tony Sabatini, Chief Fire Prevention Officer for the city of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. We'll talk about evacuation plans, pet safety, hazardous material storage and communicating with 1st responders. It proves to be a very informative show.